How to cultivate chrysanthemums
Sharing experience about chrysanthemums, a member of the Asteraceae family. Here's how to cultivate them. Next, the editor will introduce them to everyone.
Actually, it's not difficult to cultivate chrysanthemums as long as you master the key points. Chrysanthemums have a short-day, cool-loving characteristic, so although they keep growing throughout the year, they can only bloom after the autumn cool. It can be divided into four parts: winter storage, spring planting, summer stabilization, and autumn care.
One, winter storage: After the chrysanthemum flowers dry, cut off the stems and leave the roots in a low-temperature room for winter care, and do not water too much.
Two, spring planting: Move outdoors after spring warming and enter normal management, water and fertilize to promote growth.
Three, summer stabilization
(i) Plant renewal: There are two methods
In May or June, pinch the top of the chrysanthemum plant, leaving 8-10 leaves on the stem, and remove the buds in the leaf axils at any time. This is to induce the buds under the roots to sprout, so that the foot buds can replace the new plants. For varieties that do not easily produce foot buds, such as 'Pingsha Luo Yan', 'Shuaiqi', 'Shizhang Zhulian', etc., pinch in mid-May to promote sprouting.
Another simpler method is direct cutting, which is done in late May or early June. The cuttings are 6 cm long, using the top tender branches, with green, fleshy, solid cuttings. The bed matrix consists of half peat and half perlite (or just perlite, coarse river sand is also fine). Plant the cuttings 2 cm deep, spray thoroughly with water, and spray several times a day for the first few days, 7-8 times. After a few days, reduce the frequency but keep the bed moist. It's even better if the cutting's cut surface can be dipped in a rooting hormone.
The tender tips cut off can be used for cutting, which is a win-win situation, as it can induce lower foot buds and also obtain cuttings.
(ii) In mid-to-late July, select new seedlings with good roots for planting. Foot bud seedlings with poor growth should be planted with the old roots. Choose a pot with a diameter of 15-20 cm, preferably a new pot. If using an old pot, it should be sunned to kill germs. Before planting, place a 1 cm thick layer of pine branches at the bottom of the pot for drainage, and fill half of the pot with soil. After planting, start growing and fertilize with 1% urea water every 3 days.
Four, autumn care
(i) In mid-to-late August, the seedlings have grown tall. At this time, fill the soil again, ensuring it is full and fertile. You can add some fermented leaf mold or 5% compound fertilizer, mix the fertilizer into the soil in advance, and add 0.5% potassium dihydrogen phosphate and 1% urea 2 weeks after the beginning of autumn. From early September, fertilize every 5-7 days with 2-3% urea or 1-2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution until the buds show color. (Note: For delicate varieties that are sensitive to heavy fertilization, reduce the frequency and concentration of fertilization early on). Sufficient nitrogen fertilizer makes the stems and leaves grow strong and lush, phosphorus fertilizer promotes root development, and potassium fertilizer promotes photosynthesis, producing more nutrients and promoting the absorption of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
(ii) Control height
If you want to dwarf chrysanthemums, the first choice is dwarf varieties. The second is to use a dwarfing agent, such as B9, diluted to 200 times the solution and sprayed. Starting from July after potting, generally once every 10-15 days, depending on the specific situation. Do not spray the buds after they appear. Otherwise, all your efforts for the year will be wasted. Avoid spraying in the middle of the day when the temperature is high, either before 9:00 am or in the evening.
(iii) Chrysanthemum diseases
Prevention is the main approach for chrysanthemum diseases. In the stage before budding, the main pests are heart borers, chrysanthemum beetles, caterpillars, and red spiders. Use manual catching and spraying to eliminate them in time. In the later stage, aphids are the most harmful, using alternation of dimethoate and bromide esters, adding some fungicides each time.
The above shared content about how to cultivate chrysanthemums is for reference by green plant enthusiasts. I hope it can solve your problems in green plant and flower management.